John C. Breckinridge

The election of 1860, was the spark of the American Civil War. During this period, the main issue on everyone’s mind was supporting slavery in the United States. The Western delegates at the nominating convention, however, opposed this and argued for the endorsing of popular sovereignty. The proposal conquered Southern opinions and these delegates, disgusted, walked away.

Democrats still insisted in promoting slave codes in the territories. Republicans debated about the proposition of popular sovereignty being the wrong way to fight slavery. The southern Democrats said that slave holders had the right to bring their property into the new territories, and that included slaves. Obviously, Democrats and Republicans had different definitions for popular sovereignty.

The angered Southern Democrats reunited in Richmond, Virginia, and nominated the then vice- president John C. Breckinridge from Kentucky. Breckinridge was a Southern (Independent) Democrat that ran his campaign with his vice- president nominee Joseph Lane.

The whole contest was actually two elections; Breckinridge ran against John Bell, while Abraham Lincoln ran against Stephen Douglas. He pledged the protection of slavery in the United States. Aside from supporting the issue of slavery, he also wanted higher tariffs, government paid internal improvements, land, and governmental aid for a transcontinental railroad. On the slavery issue, Republicans decided that each state should decide what side to take. That was the key to winning the election with Abraham Lincoln as their candidate. However, in the end, the people still preferred Lincoln’s conservative, yet radical ways.